


two rules

by AncientGlory



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Coffee Addict Tony Stark, Coffee Shops, Demon Summoning, Demon Tony Stark, Developing Friendships, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Just to make it clear, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Tony Stark, our precious lil boi, so please don't picture spider boi played by andrew garfield, spider boi is gonna be portrayed by tom holland, uwu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-05-27 22:32:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15034715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AncientGlory/pseuds/AncientGlory
Summary: Steve had just broken one of his mom's only two rules- he summoned a demon, and the other rule? Never fall in love. But he sort of, kinda, maybe fell in love with the demon.ORwhere steve works at a small coffee shop and summons a demon by making the worst experimental coffee blend ever, and he ends up fallin in love with it hehe lolol





	1. stevie-boyo

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ Steve’s mother, the devout Christian she was, had two rules that she demanded he follow.

One: Don’t ever fall in love.

The reasons behind this rule were personal, and she never revealed what they were. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

Two: Never summon a demon.

Steve knew it was because of her deep faith in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but he couldn’t help but question why she would even think it was possible to summon demons. Was she experienced in those areas? If she was, he now wished she would come back from the beyond to help him.

He had summoned a demon, breaking one of the two rules she had left for him.

Son of a gun.

Steve couldn’t help but feel pity for this Cheshire-like creature in front of him. The blond clearly didn’t know what he was doing, and the creature seemed annoyed that he had even dragged him here, to another world, without a reason. Crouching, its tail flicked back and forth in an aggravated manner, a sharp, pointy, flexible spear that could pierce Steve’s skull if it wanted to, he was sure. Black, spiky hair and a killer goatee really played along with the _I can kill you and I will_ feel to it.

Without the tail, it looked fairly human with fairly human skin, if it weren’t for a hazy blue glow at the center of its chest, and short elven ears. Despite that, he wouldn’t, and couldn’t, get over the fact that he managed to summon a demon. The fact that it wore no clothes didn’t help, and now he knew for sure that the creature was male.

A silence hung over the room, and the demon merely sat and watched the man with its scarily deep chocolate eyes. When the creature shifted for the first time in their standoff, Steve had jumped right out of his skin. He swore it had scoffed at him, but it continued to sit there. It shifted to get comfortable, getting into a cross legged position, but it never broke eye contact.

After a couple of minutes, it yawned, then cocked its head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

Taunting. Asking. Waiting.

Steve decided to end this stupid contest.

“So… you speak English much?” he asked, inciting a snort from the creature. “Uh… do you understand what I’m saying?”

The creature smirked.

“ _Perfectly, Stevie-boy.”_


	2. stephanie

Steve didn’t really have anything to say to that. He didn’t expect to elicit a response from it with his random questions.

“Do you… have a name I could call you?” The demon began to sit still for once, ceasing its fidgeting, its facial expression turning into one of thoughtfulness. Steve began to take this silence as an opportunity to look around his poor coffee shop. He didn’t quite understand why he was so calm, but he guessed it was from the tranquility of knowing that he royally messed up. Broken chairs and tables had been shoved to the walls, the wooden floor that he picked out specifically because Bucky had wanted him to was scratched from the harsh scraping of the furniture. Windows were cracked, the doors for the entrance and the storage room hung off the hinges. In short, the cafe was a mess, probably from the force of the summoning. It didn’t help that there was an alien species sitting right in the middle of the chaotic scene, with a pentagram etched with coffee beans.

The darn coffee beans. Why the coffee beans? Why would they betray him-

A noise interrupted his mourning for the death of his love of coffee beans.

“ _My human name was Anthony, I believe,”_ it had said, and Steve realised then how low and smooth it was. “Anthony.” He liked the way it felt on his tongue. “I like that name.”

The demon- no, Anthony- let out another snort. “ _I don’t see why not, considering how I’m technically_ yours _now, and you sorta have to like me now, since you’re stuck with me for as long as you live.”_ Anthony replied, and he uncrossed his legs. Leaning back, he asked, “ _So… are you going to let me out of this cage and let me grant all of your wishes or desires and possibly clean up this mess of a shop, or let me stay in here? I don’t have all day, you know… I have all the time in the world.”_

* * *

He let Anthony out.

Anthony began to prowl around the ruined store like a cat that had just been let out from its cage, and Steve had to look away. As graceful as he was, Anthony was pacing around fully in the nude, and he didn't know where to look- so he looked to the ceiling.

“I’ll… get you some clothes.” The sound of Anthony’s feet padding around stopped, but then came closer. Soon enough, strong arms surrounded his waist from behind.

“ _Do you really have to, Stevie-boy?”_ Anthony’s voice purred near his ear. “ _We can have fun… without clothing.”_

He blushed way harder than he wanted to. He pulled away from the demon, and refused to look anywhere behind him where Anthony was.

“Well, since I do _technically_ own you, I really would like it if you put on some clothes.”

“ _You’re no fun, aren’t you?”_

* * *

The time was currently… very late, Steve guessed, and he gazed tiredly at the cafe. The windows showed the dark sky, and the moon was already peeking out from the clouds. It had been a struggle trying to please the demon with the small collection of white shirts and shorts that he could give him, but he gave up, and flung random clothing at him.

Arms wrapped around his waist once more.

“ _Do you want me to fix it for you, Stevie-boy?”_

He hesitated, then unwrapped Anthony’s arms. Turning around, he took in the sight of a demon wearing clothes too big for it. Steve did have broader shoulders, and there was a stark difference between their physique. Anthony was more sleek and wiry, not to mention quite shorter than him, while Steve was burly and bulky, and taller than a darn demon. Take that, Lucifer.

“Well, if you can, then yeah,” he answered, “please do.”

“ _Close your eyes, Stephanie. Or not. Keep them open. Or closed. Whatever.”_

Anthony waved his hand over Steve’s eyes, and when he finished the gesture everything was back to normal. Cups back into their cupboards, coffee beans back into their burlap sacks, furniture fixed.

Steve couldn’t help but gape.

“ _So... I think it's t_ _ime for me_ _to break out the deal, Stephanie.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop thanks for reading TR! i really hope yall enjoy this, bc im really nervous about postin this fic lol. ive been working on it for a while now, but i really hope this meets your standards/// i hope to see you again next time!! dont forget to leave a kudo, comment, bookmark, subscribe whatever! buhbye!!


	3. wakey wakey eggs and demons trying to kill you

“Not right now,” Steve said with a yawn. “We can talk about this,” he gestured vaguely around the room and pointed to Anthony with an accusing finger, “later.”

Anthony grumbled under his breath, low enough so only he could hear it, but Steve always had better hearing than the average Joe. 

_ “Well, I mean, the  _ very important  _ conversation we need to have sort of contains how I know your name before you introduced yourself to me and how you managed to summon me, and why I’m even here, but sure, go ahead,”  _ he griped with sarcasm,  _ “nap in the presence of a Catholic’s worst nightmare.” _

Steve was too tired to care about a grouchy demon who was probably born in the medieval ages. It was one heck of a day, and he’d have to wake up extra early for the early-bird special he had put into action the other day. Those grannies are merciless when it comes to Steve’s own secret premium blend. 

And no, the secret ingredient was not  _ love  _ or anything as silly as that. He’d been asked that way too many times.

He opened the door to the stairs that led to his own floor, and trudged up them. When he suddenly heard footsteps following him, he jumped, and spun around. 

“What are you doing?” Steve demanded, unreasonably angry. God, he was so tired. Anthony replied with unhidden snark,  _ “I have to have a place to sleep too, you know. All that bullshit over demons not sleeping or whatever is utter bullcrap. I need my fair share of winks and Zs. Are you trying to take away my rights as a demon? I’ll have you know, I am a major-” _

“Alright, stop.” Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, something he only did when somebody or  _ something  _ began to get on his nerves. Anthony was beginning to sound like his grandmother when she came over with her posse of perverted grannies- who always checked him out when he made drinks, very noticeably as well- and he denied giving them a discount because he couldn’t spare a couple of bucks simply because of those pairs of socks that she gave to him in fourth grade.

He never forgave, but that bitch would never forget.

“I’ll let you sleep here. In my room. Don’t make me regret it.”

Anthony cheered silently with a pumped fist and a silent hiss of  _ “Yes!”.  _

* * *

Steve regret it. Anthony had somehow wound up from the small couch in front of the T.V. to beside him on the bed, one arm managing to find it’s way underneath Steve’s head like a pillow and the other over Steve’s chest, Anthony facing Steve.

He really didn’t like how close the demon was to him. Not that it was because he was a demon, he wasn’t a discriminating jerk like that, but maybe it kinda was? Anthony was a stranger after all. Maybe that was why, when his alarm clock went off, Steve opened his eyes to the sight of Anthony’s somewhat soft sleeping face and yelled right at it. 

His eyes snapped right open and adopted a protective stance on the bed- not of Steve, but for himself. Anthony’s tail whipped back and forth, and his head swiveled from side to side, trying to find out if there was an immediate threat. He was now crouching on the soft material, and his muscles were as taught as a bowstring. What caught Steve’s attention the most, despite the potentially dangerous situation, was his eyes. Anthony’s eyes were quite… beautiful, in Steve’s half-asleep mind. The outside ring was red, that slowly morphed into a yellow, and as a artist for a hobby, he found it absolutely gorgeous, if that could even be thought possible for a demon. However, at the moment, those eyes were filled with alertness and rigidness, and it took Steve some time to realise he had yet to turn off the alarm clock. 

When he reached over Anthony’s shoulder to get to the snooze button, which probably wasn’t a smart idea, the demon froze up. Eyes were trained on his arm, his tail suddenly wrapping around it. The sharp, spade-like tip of his tail was poised on top of the skin, and Steve had never felt more fragile. The tail kept squeezing, pulling tighter and tighter until he had whispered, “Anthony. Stop.” 

It did. Anthony’s eyes met his, but they were now blank. The absent blue glow on his chest suddenly grew brighter. Steve didn’t know how to react to this.  _ Mind control?  _

“Anthony? Hello?” 

No response. 

“Let go of my arm, please.”

Anthony’s movements were jerky, robotic. His tail weakly unwinded from his forearm, but he was still in a protective stance. 

“Relax.” 

The demon plopped down onto the bed suddenly. Steve felt unnerved by the lack of… of humanity that Anthony once had, so he tried calling him by a nickname. Anthony had called him more nicknames when they had first met than his mother in her whole lifetime. 

“Tony?”

The blue glow faded away, once more absent and dull, and his eyes were back to their deep brown from before. Now, Anthony regained his livelihood, and he shook his head as if shaking things off from his hair. 

“What happened?” Anthony said, his voice different. It was less… low and deep, but more gravelly. It was more human-like than that unrealistic goal of a human voice. 

Steve shrugged. 

“I dunno.”


	4. tony stark at your service

“Hey, wait, where do you think you’re going?” Anthony crossed his arms from the position on the bed. Quite a look for a demon to pout. 

Steve stepped out of the bathroom, clean as a whistle. He had changed into his work uniform, his hair had been combed back a bit. He looked normal. What a change. 

He opened the creaky white door that led downstairs, and to his almost inevitable doom. There he was in all his glory, James Bucky Barnes, his  _ favourite  _ nagger. Well, he was also his best friend, so that was that. 

Steve hoped to God that Bucky didn’t notice the demon that was clinging on to him. After all, Tony didn’t have quite the human appearance. Well, he did. 

“Hey Steve,” Bucky started. “quick question, who’s that?” A finger pointed at a certain person.

Steve tried his first option: acting like he was crazy. “What? Who are you talking about?” He turned his head to look behind him, looking over Anthony, which wasn’t hard to do. “I don’t see anyone. You okay? Been doing drugs?”

Buck looked offended. 

“First of all, I’m clean. Always been, actually, since I’ve never taken drugs, idiot. Second of all, you can’t pull the “you’re-a-psychopath-what-the-fuck” trick on me. So- who’s that, hanging onto your arm?”

Steve realized how quiet the demon was, despite him talking at least once a minute. Looking down, he was surprised. Tony’s face was unreadable. Never once, in the short time that he knew him, had he not been able to feel a scrap of emotion, except before, when he was… controlled by the blue glow. Suspicious. 

“Fine. I give. He’s-”

“I’m Tony. Tony Stark. At your service.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	5. bucky

“Huh. Never knew you swung that way, Steve.”

Bucky scratched the back of his head, long hair fluffing up in odd ways because of it. “Why didn’t you just tell me? Jeez, now I feel like an ass.”

Steve just continued to gape at “Tony Stark” until said person nudged him hard enough to knock him out of his stupor.

“U-uh, yeah. Didn’t know too until I met him.” Steve gave a bashful smile, and that seemed to convince Bucky enough to drop the conversation.

Changing the subject, Steve asked, “Did you break in again? I was about to prepare for the day.”

He made his way around the counter, Tony finally letting go of him and watching him carefully form the doorway as he prepped the blends. Bucky walked over to a chair that had jutted out slightly from the table it was at, turned it smoothly, and sat on it backwards. Edgy bastard. He always used to do that at pubs, and the ladies always seemed to love it. Damn him and his rugged looks.  

“I wanted coffee. Simple as that.” The black-haired man raised his hands in a consoling manner. “Nothing more.”

Tony gave a scoff. “Why would you say that there would even be more?” Steve glanced up from his work of grinding coffee beans harshly and saw a tiny glimpse of unbridled hatred in his eyes.

“Tony.”

Tony winced. He was being reprimanded… by the seemingly nice and caring Steve Rogers? What a mom.

“Sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Bucky said briskly, confused. “Why is he here, though?”

“Flat mate,” Tony blurt out suddenly. “I’m his new… flat mate. We’ve known each other for a while, and we knew we were right for… each other.”

Bucky looked surprise. He turned to Steve, who was now leaning against the counter casually, hiding the turmoil of emotions bubbling beneath his skin. Bucky almost looked impressed. Steve snorted.

“Very romanticized, huh, Steve? I always thought I was the charming one.”

“Shaddup.”

He walked over to the “OPEN/CLOSED” sign, and flipped it to make it show that the cafe was open, the beginning of a new day.

* * *

Gramma Rogers and her posse made a quick entrance, shuffling in with surprisingly quiet feet. The only sign that they were even there was the ceaseless mindless chatter that filled the room about who’s grandson was sleeping with who’s granddaughter. Other customers came too, the usuals of course, but they knew to take their seats rather than join the line with the old women until after they finished getting what they ordered. Steve worked quickly and efficiently, and Tony began chatting up the grannies whose orders had already been given. He sat near them, but specifically, next to Grammy Rogers.

“Oh! You know my son?” Her voice was crackly and raspy, just as an old hag like her should.

Tony gave a smug glance over to Steve, and Steve returned the look with a glare.

“Why yes, yes I do. In fact, we’re living together.”

Gasps collectively sounded around him, and he visibly reveled in the attention.

“Stevey!” His grandmother stood up dramatically. Drama majors. “Are you sleeping with this man?!”

Steve had to snort. “Well, technically.” He wouldn’t give up the chance to fluster this old hag. However, she was elated.

“Yes! My baby has got someone, for the first time!”

Her friend in the posse, Rebecca, muttered, “Always bet on Bucky. Dagnabbit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof hope this makes up the short chapter last time


	6. spiders are scary

The day was over, and Tony had slowly sidled up by him when he was cleaning up. 

“So you admit it, huh?”

Steve ignored his comment, and continued scrubbing at the counter to wipe away stains. Maybe if he looked busy enough, the demon would leave him alone. He didn’t.

“We’re living together now, are we?” Tony pestered him, poking him with words and his fingers, and Steve had to hold his hand firmly to stop him when it got too much. 

“I just said that to get them off my back,” Steve snapped, but he couldn’t help but suppress a flinch when he saw the flash of hurt in his eyes. Regardless, he let go of the hand that he had held for far too long, and began to wash the cups and blenders and other stuff that he had since he didn’t believe in using little cardboard cups. 

When he let go, however, he felt a sudden stab of pain. The pain disappeared as quickly as it came, so Steve didn’t even bother looking at his hand.

* * *

As he scrubbed, he let himself get lost in the rhythm of rinsing and drying. When he accidentally dropped a butter knife into the sink, he suddenly remembered about Anthony, and was about to apologize when he noticed that the demon’s presence couldn’t be felt. 

He wasn't aware of it until now, but the house hadn’t been quiet since Tony had been summoned the other day. Now, the house felt dreadfully empty, and Steve looked down at the dishes. The one time he hadn’t been alone, he had ignored the person that kept him company, even if that person hadn’t been a person, but more a creature from Hell. What an ass he was. 

He drained the sink, deciding that the dishes would be done later, when he felt like being productive. Steve dried off his hands on the towel that hung from the fridge’s handle, and called out, “Anthony?” 

There was no response, and Steve couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. He was undoing the apron when he walked out from around the counter, and that was when he noticed something was very, very wrong. He didn’t know what, but there was something wrong. Well, not really wrong, but more like there was something missing. The warmth that Tony brought was gone, even though it was sometimes almost overbearing, and now he just felt cold, despite it being, like, a million degrees outside. Summer hurt. 

He tried again. “Tony?” Again, no response. He sighed. He probably deserved the silent treatment. Steve had probably got that demon’s hopes up, then crushed them. Yes, he did know when somebody was into him, much to everybody’s surprise, and Anthony wasn’t really trying to hide it, but he should’ve let him down in a much more gentle manner. 

He wasn’t into men. In fact, he wasn’t even really sure that he liked women either. Dating had always seemed too normal, too predictable, too open for failure. But then again, the demon had been anything but normal and predictable, so maybe it really was true that he didn’t want to date since he wasn't interested in Tony. He didn’t have to anyways. 

Steve made his way up the stairs, somewhat concerned by the lack of sound usually made by Tony. Then there was a scuffle, the another. He smiled. Tony hadn’t left the flat, after all. But then he began to think. There was usually a feeling he got that allowed him to feel the presence of Tony, wherever he was in the house. He suspected that was because of the ‘master/slave’ relationship that was usually depicted in stories of summoning demons. Anyways, right now, he didn’t really feel the spark of Tony, and there was just cold, un-receptiveness on his newly dubbed Tony radar. 

That meant that the person upstairs in his room right now wasn’t Tony, and certainly not him, because he was where he damn was: on the stairs. So, an intruder. 

Said intruder, who was apparently blind, began to apparently run around the room, knocking things off shelves. Steve readied himself. He would be facing an enemy, probably, that was looking for money that they couldn’t be able to find. The money was hidden in a special floorboard, and the only people alive that knew which one were him, him, and himself. He clenched his jaw and his fists, and took silent breaths. He counted to three slowly, then burst the door open.  In his room was a ginormous spider-like creature, the size of a golden retriever. It crawled around the walls, its eyes looking right at him as its legs scuttled around, almost in a threatening way. It slowly approached him. At the moment, the only thoughts on Steve’s mind was that this was probably a dream, or that it was Tony pulling a prank on him, so he put his hand out in a placating manner. At the sight of his hand, or more of the sight of what was engraved on it, it stopped. 

Confused, he moved his hand to the right. It moved to the right. 

The same thing happened when he moved it to his left. The spider creature was following his every hand-movement, and he was very interested on what was on his hand that allowed him to control it. He had made a mistake. 

He turned his hand around to look at his palm, and he found that there was a symbol engraved into his skin. It was smooth, and looked not that much different from a tattoo, or a pen scribble. It had a letter that looked suspiciously like an S, and there was a delicate design of a whip that looked like Tony’s tail wrapped around it. A supposed ring of blackness that bore a similarity to black fog surrounded it, closing off the symbol. 

During his thoughts, the creature had broken out of its own stupor, and had begun to crawl closer, now close enough to bare its huge hollow fangs that had venom sloshing around in it. Steve yelped in surprise, and he leapt back, prepared to run. The spider pounced atop him, and he squirmed. It tilted its head back to plunge its fang into his neck strong enough to both inject the venom and break his neck, and he yelled out the name of the person he wished was here the most. 

“Anthony!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im very sorry for the lack of updates!!!!!! ive been so obsessed with the TV show Sherlock lately that i cant really get over it. lmao. i lost interest for the rest of my fanfics, but now, after finally checking how many kudos that my fics have been getting despite me never updating them i decided that i shouldnt let u guys down anymore! thank you all who gave this story kudos, guests or users, and especially those who commented! look forward to an update coming soon!!


	7. almost like father, mostly like son

The spider had stopped at the sound of those words, fangs just inches away from his neck. In a sequence of actions that shocked Steve, it began to scuttle away from him, its eyes locked with his, no longer filled with the bloodlust it had before. Instead, there was something that seemed like childish innocence. It crawled onto his bed, going in circles as a dog would to make itself comfortable, then plopped down. 

Steve was, in a way, confused, but very much relieved. He quickly rose to his feet. They continued to hold each other’s gaze until a flash of blue light appeared behind Steve. He turned around to face it, already fed up with the amount of surprises and flashing lights he had dealt with in the past two days. Before he could register who there was, however, he was soon held in a set of arms and surrounded by a most familiar smell. 

Anthony was there, holding him very closely to his chest, and despite the height difference, Steve couldn’t help but feel small. 

“Hey, sorry I’m late, are you okay?” Steve couldn’t answer, as he was, well, being suffocated to be putting it lightly. “Steve?” Steve thumped Tony’s back lightly, his face turning red. “Oh!” 

Tony let go of him, stepping back, but still keeping a hand on his back, almost possessive. Then, he noticed the elephant in the room. Or, in this case, a spider. 

“Peter?” Tony exclaimed, finally taking his hand off of Steve. Steve frowned at him wanting to feel held again, and began to straighten his emotions that were currently purring at being touched by Anthony, despite only having known him for a couple of days. He focused on the situation at hand. 

“Kid, is that you?” 

The spider seemed to have shrunk into the bed, almost as if it was feeling ashamed of its behaviour before. “It is!  _ Arachne Petraishar Pahkeer Stahrk,  _ I command you to turn into a human form!” The spider ducked its head, and shook it in an almost nervous manner. “What do you mean, no, you rascal? I command you to!” The spider turned its back to him, but looked back a few moments later in guilt. 

Steve was amused. He had to let out a cough, one that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Tony whipped back around to look at him. “Did he hurt you?” His voice was low, almost sounding just as guilty as the spider on his bed. 

“No! No, he didn’t! I promise.” Tony didn’t look convinced, but he dropped it. He approached the creature on Steve’s bed, and placed a hand on its head. 

“Petraishar, please. Turn into a human form for your old man, huh?” Steve blinked. His son?

A whining sound came out of the spider. “No, I promise you, this guy is safe. He’s the kindest human I’ve ever met.” Another sound, like a whisper, was spoken by the spider. “No, he hasn’t tried to hurt me. I read his mind when he summoned me- he’s not like the others.” A huff. “No, I’m not lying just because he’s behind us.” Scraping sounds. “I’m telling you, he didn’t force me to brand him. I did it of my own accord before I ran off to see… before I ran off. To protect him.” The spider produced a long string of those sounds combined, and by the end of it, Tony looked offended. 

“I went to Pepeonius, you foul minded fool! And I branded him because I knew demons like you but much, much worse- no offense-” The spider made a noncommittal noise. “-would come and try to attack him! He’s like a beam of light for a bunch of ravenous furies! He’s so innocent; literally any demon would want to claim him if I didn’t already do so, so he should be glad I’m not one of those nastier demons from Pride, or Lucifer forbid, Wrath.” 

The spider seemed convinced at these words, and began to make another sound when Anthony cut him off. “Just turn into a human form for me. Please.” The creature, underneath the light that Steve just remembered to turn on, was revealed to be black and red, and it nodded slowly, still under his father’s hand. A flash of red, and it showed a boy- who almost looked like a teenager. 

_ “Lord Anthonios, I just thought he was like one of those guys that did bad things to you, please, I didn’t know that-” _

His father cut him off by holding him into a headlock and affectionately ruffling his brown hair that looked like his dad’s. “Don’t ever startle me like that ever again! How did you even manage to escape Samos’ sight? He’s a damn hawk familiar, for Lucifer’s sake!”  Petraishar had the decency to look ashamed. At this time, Steve threw some clothes at the spider demon’s chest. He looked up, surprised.  _ “What are these for?”  _ Tony released his hold.

“You should wear them. People on the upper floor here like to cover their body,” Tony answered for Steve. “It’s weird, but don’t question it.”

_ “I thought we had to be proud of our bodies we were gifted with, no matter what we look like?”  _ Tony chuckled and sat down on the bed next to him. “Yeah, but humans tend to be terribly self-conscious of themselves, and like to cover their own self-proclaimed flaws.”

_ “That’s stupid.” _

“You know what else is stupid, kid? Running into the human realm in your damn demonic form. Even when I was summoned, I took a somewhat human form! And fix your voice.”  Petraishar cleared his throat, then spoke again. “Sorry, father.” His voice was just like a teenager’s too, so Steve had to choke back another bout of laughter. Anthony tisked. 

“Just call me dad. I find it a lot more convenient than lord, or father. Humans tend to use this word, didya know?” 

Petraishar looked astonished at this revelation. _ “Dad?  _ Where did these humans get these kind of words? They’re so funny.”

Toyn shrugged. 

Steve sighed. “Well, as much as I’d hate to break this wonderful father-son moment going on here, this funny little human needs to sleep after being attacked by a spider demon and worrying about his own demon. So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll need you to put on some clothes and sleep on the couch if you need to.” He pointed at the spider demon. “What’s your name?”

“P-Petraishar.  Petraishar Pahkeer Stahrk.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll just call you Peter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this one! toodles~   
> ::AG::


	8. samos says shush

He only vaguely remembered lazily getting ready for bed and blacking out the moment his head touched his pillow, not even bothering to pull the blanket over himself, falling asleep right on the covers. That was why when he woke up flanked on both sides by walls of demon, he couldn’t help but to let out a yelp and leap out of bed. Peter followed suit, only to climb up to the ceiling and sit there calmly, upside down, letting out a yawn.

As he stood, looking at both of them from in front of the bed, Tony raised his hands from where he lay in surrender. Apparently, the two had done so to keep him warm, Tony explained, giving him a tired once-over in exasperation, beginning to wrap the blankets around himself, as if having two people who he didn’t know for long lay next to him was a perfectly normal thing to do. Peter and Tony had stayed up all night to talk about the rules of society and how to act when there were customers downstairs, etcetera, and Peter made a point in front of both of them to morph his eight eyes into two, blinking rapidly as the change happened. 

“So is this a normal thing, dog-piling, down in h-e-double hockey sticks?” Steve sighed as he shook his head, turning around to turn on the T.V. before making his way to the bathroom to wash up. He began brushing his teeth, but quickly. Opening time was nearing. 

Tony snorted while Peter let out a cough that sounded like a laugh. “Double hockey sticks, I am  _ dying,  _ Stephanie. And yeah, sure, I don’t mind a lil bit of cuddling with a being that gets cold easily. My ex used to be cold all the time and liked to like, shove his feet against my legs. They were so, so cold.” 

Steve paused in his shaving. “His?”

Peter climbed down the wall, sitting back down on the bed next to Tony. “Yeah, Dad dated female and male demons- just as long as they were nice, I guess. But the last one was seriously mean to me, I’m not even joking.” 

“Well, I mean, I think Steve would make a good replacement,” Tony said suggestively, wiggling his brows at the other man. Steve turned around from the mirror to frown at him from the doorway, rubbing away the water from when he washed off the cream. “You didn't deny it. Have you fallen for me already?” 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Tony,” Steve muttered as he walked out of the bathroom, looking for his apron. “I’m more like your boss. Gotta stay professional.”

The demon went silent as he rummaged around. And the silence in the room continued when Anthony rolled over onto his side, showing his back to Steve. Peter shook his head at him, a disapproving look on his face, which earned him a narrow-eyed glare from Steve, causing him to look down in guilt. “Hey, I mean…” He sighed. “Peter, go downstairs and get something to eat for yourself. Don’t make a mess, though,” Steve said, as an afterthought. The boy nodded, hopping off the mattress, nimbly making his way down the stairs. 

“Anthony, about what I said… I didn’t mean to let you down like that.” The demon kept silent, which Steve took as a sign to continue. “Not let you down, like disappoint you, but let you down as in… I don’t think I want to date at the moment or get involved in a relationship. I really hope that I wasn’t wrong in assuming that you’re interested in me-”

“Which you’re not, by the way,” Anthony muttered to the wall.

“-but I’ve only known you for like, what, three days? And in those three days, I’ve had two demons so far visit me, and I’m pretty sure that won’t land me in the Lord’s good graces,” he joked.

The demon’s shoulders began to shake, laughing. Steve almost let out a sigh of relief, glad to relieve some of the tension.  

“So… you want to help me out downstairs?”

Tony rolled around to face him. “Only if I get to say you’re dating me.”

“What? No!” 

“It was worth a shot.” He leaped up. “Let’s go, my trusty hoe.”

Steve, who had been making his way to the door that leads to the cafe, stopped. “What did you just say?”

“I-I said, let’s go, my trusty bro.”

The man gave him an odd look before walking down the stairs and going behind the counter. Tony followed suit, except sitting on said counter, huffing and crossing his arms. “Get off,” Steve said, a wet cloth in his hand. 

“No.” They glared at each other, Steve beginning to slap him with the rag. “Can’t make me, Steph. This feels like nothing to me.”

Peter interjected from one of the tables. 

“Do you have any more of these things?” He held up a sugar cube he picked up from the bag Steve kept them in, staring at it as if it were the best thing in the world. “They taste amazing, by the way.” Tony paused from swatting away Steve’s attacks to hop off the counter to pluck it out of the boy’s hands before popping it into his mouth, turning around to face Steve, impressed. 

“They really do,” he said incredulously, wagging a finger at Steve as if to reprimand him for not showing him this before. “Have any more?”

Steve frowned. “Of course I do. How did you even get that? I put it into the top cupboard-”

“On top of the oven, yeah, I got that. I can climb.” He wiggled his fingers.

Steve sighed, continuing to clean and prep, and soon it was opening time. He asked Peter to help him turn the sign at the front, and the boy shrugged. “Sure.” Customers began to trail in, needing their coffee on what seemed to be the longest Monday morning of all time. The regulars were there, of course, but there was one man that seemed like he didn’t belong. Tony hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, so he didn’t bring it up as he handed out coffee. The older demon was flitting around from table to table, so he was curious for the moment he would reach the mysterious man’s.

* * *

 

Who was that guy? Did he have anything to do with the new demonic roommates? His mind kept popping in suggestions, and he messed up one or two orders. Steve apologized profusely both times, handing them a free muffin in return. He was still lost in thought when Peter popped up behind him. 

“Help me, Mr. Rogers!” 

Steve flinched. “What is it?”

“That guy, I’m sure you noticed!” He pointed at the MM, the guy with a red hat and crisp suit. “He’s my dad’s familiar, oh my gosh, he’s gonna take me back to Hell!” Peter grabbed onto Steve’s shoulders. “Don’t let him see me!”

The man met Steve’s eyes with a smirk, holding a finger up to his lip. “Shush.”

“Uh, Peter,” he began. “I think he already knows where you are.”


	9. death sentences and threats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> steve feels v awkward in this one and this is heavily focused on the demon bois today (uwu)/ also, thank you to everyone that has continued to leave kudos despite me not even updating???? you the real mvps

Tony had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, swinging an arm around Steve’s waist, his hand tightening around the tight muscles that tensed at the sudden touch.

“What has gotten Peter all riled up, Wonderboy?” Tony grimaced as he gave a quick scan over the room, pulling Steve back when he attempted to escape his iron grasp. “Stay here. There’s something dangerous in here- I can feel it, don’t give me that look- so don’t go off running into danger headfirst.” 

Steve let out a quiet growl of frustration but continued to do his job, sending out drinks for his new demonic employee- Peter- to deliver to the right tables as worked at his own stations. After all, there was money to be made. The two men stood side by side for quite a while, the human of the two pointing out the correct tables to the clumsy boy as the hand that was clasped to his side stayed there, almost unnoticed as he flitted around from different stations behind the counter. 

It was only when Steve had almost spilled coffee on Peter for the fourth time did he snap at Anthony for the damn leash.

“Hey, come on man, let go. I have a job to do, and I almost burned your kid!”

Tony scoffed. “Please, the kid can survive the flames of Hell, so if anything, you should be worried about that. Anyways…” When he trailed off, Steve noticed there were no new customers coming in, and the rush hour had ended- for now. He straightened up and wiped off his hands with the closest clean towel, looking around for Peter, only to find him draped across a table with a weary expression on his face. 

“Anyways what?”

“Oh… it’s just- uh… an old friend has come to visit me. Excusez-moi, pretty boy.” The pressure on Steve’s hip disappeared, leaving Steve feeling quite cold despite the heat of the summer weather that was let in by the open windows by the sink. 

Tony made his way over to the man in the red suit, greeting him with a smile. They began to converse, Tony’s eyes crinkling as the smile grew bigger as they chatted. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he looked to Peter to see his reaction as his demonic hearing caught every word. 

Peter’s eyebrows sometimes furrowed, then a pink tinge came, dusting over his ears and cheeks, and he would sometimes run a hand through his brown hair, much like his father’s. He glanced over in interest as he began to prep for the next group of customers, washing a few coffee pots during the free time. He was so amused by the different looks on Peter’s face, however, that he didn’t realise how invested he was in until he was broken out of his stupor when Tony called his name from across the room. 

“Stevie! Come meet Samos,” he said, waving a hand at the black man in the suit, who gave him a quick once over as Steve stepped closer. “He’s my familiar; a partner in crime.” Samos nodded towards him with a quiet smile on his face, red eyes twinkling in interest. 

“I’m sure you’ve treated my brother well, haven’t you?” Samos’ voice was just as silky as Anthony’s once had been. “Otherwise, you’d be dead by now.” 

Steve swallowed, suddenly daunted by this man- most likely a demon- dressed in red- and looked surprisingly great in it. He always hated the colour red; it reminded him too much of blood. He shrugged at these words, unsure of how to answer at the light threat. The second sentence from this man, and he’d already been given an ultimatum. 

“I guess? I haven’t known him for long.” 

“Then I guess you wouldn’t mind me takin’ him. The man downstairs wants to talk to him about somethin’ that doesn’t really concern you, lil’ man.”

Lil’ man? Steve frowned. “Well, if you’re going to take my demon, then I’m pretty sure I need to be there too.” 

Samos scoffed, amusement lighting up his face. “You think you can be in the presence of the father of all damn demons? That’s… why would you do that?” He leaned back in his seat. “You don’t even know who Edwardus is.”

“Edwardus? His name is Anthony.”

“Is that what you want to call him?” Steve shook his head. 

“That’s what he wants to be called.”

Samos looked over at the demon that was currently ushering Peter up the stairs to Steve’s room, their new safe haven, Steve supposed. During the early stages of their conversation, Tony had slipped away to make sure his son was feeling okay after he noticed the boy slumping over the tables, and so now Peter was being forced upstairs, his feet dragging against the steps. “He’s never told anybody his real name without being either tortured or being deeply invested in the person he tells. Consider yourself lucky, brother. I don’t know what my brother sees in you… but I hope his instincts are right this time. They rarely ever are.” 

Tony marched back, standing next to Steve. “What did you just say about me? I swear, you made fun of me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Samos with a smirk. “But seriously, Father wants to see you. Needs to talk to you about your new  _ arrangements.” _

Tony groaned. “How long, this time? I’ve only been here for like, what, four days? Five? Somewhere around there,” the demon exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. “He seriously can’t be that mad about me settling down, for once. He didn’t mind before, and I’ve been gone for so much longer!” 

“Yeah, but you’ve never gone away in the middle of a war. He needs his general.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I don’t want to be a general anymore. Maybe, just maybe, I don’t want to be a blacksmith, or a negotiator. Maybe I want to settle down, and maybe even turn off my demonic powers for good.”

Samos stayed silent for a while as Steve shuffled his feet awkwardly as in his head he mulled over some details. Tony had chosen to settle down with him? Your boring, old, average Joe? Not that he was complaining, but surely, being a demon was better than being a human? 

“You wouldn’t,” whispered Samos, stonily serious all of a sudden. “You wouldn’t dare. Think about everything you’re throwing away, Edwardus. The power, the glory, being a demon. Don’t you even think about leaving us.” Steve decided to join Peter upstairs after flipping the sign closed when the last customer filed out. His store, his rules. The tension in the cafe was growing stronger than what he had liked.

* * *

“I would.”

“Father won’t be happy. He’ll hunt you down, find you himself. Your pet won’t be safe.”

“Then at least help me. Distract him, stall him, whatever. Just… please. I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want to have to kill my brothers and sisters, even the fallen angels. Come on… for me, brother.” Samos frowned, his hawk-like eyes sweeping over him in almost pity. “And for Peter. I still haven’t forgiven you for letting him run off, by the way,” he teased light-heartedly. 

They held gazes for a long time, neither of them moving. Using the bond between them forged as familiar and partner, they communicated, energy surging between them in waves. 

Samos sighed when a particularly harsh shove was aimed at him, cutting off the open line between them for a bit. 

“I don’t understand what you see in him… but I’ll try my best for you, brother. You gotta make sure you make preparations to keep him safe. You’ll be pursued by a lot of trouble in about a month, though. That’s the longest I can promise you. After that, I will join your side, and pray that we’ll be able to fend them  _ all _ off.”

Tony let out a sigh of relief, a huge smile on his face despite the death sentence now hanging over his head. “Thank you, brother.”


End file.
